Brian Kelly's Blame Game - Rivals

Oct 11, 2016, 9:11 AM

Who in the world would want to play for him?

I could probably write 2,000 words on Notre Dame’s 10-3 loss to NC State over the weekend. From whether the game should have been canceled due to the weather (yes) to the Irish's play-calling (ridiculous), there are so many juicy topics from which to choose. But, by now, those topics have been hashed out a million times, so there is no need to beat a dead horse.

Here’s what worries, or at least aggravates, Notre Dame fans the most: Brian Kelly’s apparent stubbornness and unwillingness to change while he blames his players. Yes, Kelly fired Brian VanGorder following the team's embarrassing loss to Duke, but he wasn't left with much choice after a 1-3 start. What I’m talking about is Kelly’s insistence on doing things his way and then, if that doesn't work, throwing his players under the bus.

Is it Sam Mustipher’s fault that Kelly had him snapping shotgun in a monsoon on 4th and 8? Is it DeShone Kizer’s fault he was asked to throw the ball 26 times in impossible conditions or asked to run the ball so many times with zero footing? Is it the wide receivers' fault that there were so many drops in the game? Nope, nope and nope. But Kelly never seems to accept any of the blame, at least as far as I can tell.

I read a recap after the game titled “Brian Kelly takes blame for Notre Dame’s loss at NC State” and then went on to read quotes from the head coach about not second-guessing the number of throws and how he was surprised that the passing game wasn’t as effective as he thought it would be. What? Excuse me?

Kelly called the snapping in the game from his team "atrocious." It was bad enough to see him verbally undress Mustipher on the sideline following the fourth-down bad snap, but to search and search for that accountability from the coach and find little of it was possibly worse.

Notre Dame fans know this isn’t the first time he’s “assumed” responsibility while deflecting it at the same time. Kelly’s teams have come out flat in many games this season and 2-4 has been the result so far. The Irish could be on their way to their worst season since the year Charlie Weis got fired.

As a leader of young men, I feel it would be best for Kelly to fall on his sword and be the shield his players need, even if they didn’t execute in a situation. Now, even if Kelly begins to do that, it will be considered too late or perhaps contrived by a fan base he is coming close to losing and perhaps by a team he has already lost. And, as a recruiting guy, you can trust me that prospects know when a coach gets a reputation for blaming his players. That’s because it’s pointed out to them by every program recruiting against Notre Dame.

https://n.rivals.com/news/three-point-stance-brian-kelly-s-blame-game-a-m-s-rise-five-stars

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Brian Kelly's Blame Game - Rivals

Ouch.. slap right in the face of duke.***

Another game where it only rained on ND's side of the field***

they were never the same after they were violated by us

Articles like this reinforce how lucky we are to have Coach

How are things working out for Parker Boudreaux

Bad Luck Brian

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